Should real names be required when posting online comments?

American Anthropological AssociationThe exhibit "RACE: Are We So Different?" is at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, through Jan. 2.

This is part of an occasional series about racial issues the
Kalamazoo Gazette is publishing while the nationally touring exhibit —
"RACE: Are We So Different?" — runs at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum
through Jan. 2.

The comment sections of media websites are meant to foster community discussion and keep people engaged with the site, which in turn generates revenue for an industry working to make money online.

The Kalamazoo Gazette allows anonymous comments on stories on its website, mlive.com, which is administered elsewhere.

Jim Borden, the Gazette’s managing editor, said he most often sees racist comments in stories involving crime, social justice or matters involving race.

Online readers can flag a comment they find objectionable, and website administrators will review the comment and decide whether to remove it. A recent example of that is when Marsxiv said the high death rate of Native Americans in the early days of New World colonialization was justified because whites are the superior race. The comment was removed from the website.

“We try to be as hands-off with comments as we can be,” Borden said. “We want people to be able to express themselves freely, but within some of the same rules of civility and common sense that guide most of the mass media.

“Comment anonymity is something that’s come along with the medium, and users of the Internet have become accustomed to being able to say anything, no matter how harsh or offensive, without having to identify themselves. But I think a lot of news people and others are beginning to rethink that strategy given the abuses we’re seeing.”

Some journalism observers believe real names should be required to post comments, some of which would never be chosen for publication in a traditional letters-to-the-editor section.

“It astonishes me that they allow such blatant expressions,” said Robert Steele, a journalism scholar at DePauw University and The Poynter Institute.

“Even if it’s legitimate to try and draw viewers to sites, is it legitimate to allow individuals who are swinging a sharp ax, and often doing so with a hood over their heads in anonymous fashion, to have this forum that can not only create harm, but breed hatred?”

What:
The installation, created by the American Anthropological Association
and The Science Museum of Minnesota, is designed to spur a national
dialogue on race. It explores the subject from biological, historical
and human points of view, using photographs, movies and interactive
displays.